Syria deploys police in south Damascus after IS defeat – state media

Syrian police deployed across devastated districts in southern Damascus on Tuesday, AFP said, citing state media reports. The move came a day after the government captured the area from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). The government on Monday seized the Yarmuk Palestinian camp and adjacent neighborhoods of Tadamun and al-Hajar al-Aswad, putting Damascus fully under its control for the first time since 2012. On Tuesday, police units entered Yarmuk and al-Hajar al-Aswad and planted the two-star Syrian flag there, state television said. “Special units are deployed across the camp to help any civilians and protect their belongings,” said one officer interviewed on the state broadcaster. Yarmuk, al-Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby district of Tadamun lie in a southern pocket of Damascus that had escaped government control for several years.